Et Cetera
by Silent Songbird
Summary: "Oi, Sasuke…" Naruto's voice reduced to a mere whisper. "…T-there are people here." No response. "I said there are people here teme!" "I heard you the first time dobe." Silence again. "Why? Why are there people here?" Naruto asked, looking over to his rival for an answer. "I don't care" The Uchiha's nose rumpled. "Just get them to stop screaming."
1. Issei I

**Note: This is written [mostly] in the First Person Perspective (1st Person POV) as a challenge to myself to see how well I can write with it, so I suppose the reviews will tell.**

 **Secondary Note: This story is partially inspired by three works: Fairy Tail Dragon Slayer's NarutoxRWBY crossover " _Naruto the Sun God_ ", Illusionary Reality's " _The Devil's Dark Knight - Revamped_ " and what I feel is one of the most underestimated gems on this section, The King in White's " _Irregular Metronome_ ".**

* * *

 **Et Cetera**

 **Et cetera (/ɛtˈsɛtərə/; Latin pronunciation: [ɛt ˈkeːtɛra]) (rare: etceteros) (abbreviated to etc or &c) is a Latin expression that is used in English to mean "and other similar things", or "and so forth".**

* * *

The T.V. was blaring several R-Rated sounds that would have probably gotten me in trouble anywhere else but here. I allowed a small smile to grace my lips as my fingers rapidly tapped against the controller, watching as my character on screen performed a series of actions that coordinated with the rapid pushes of the buttons.

" _Ah! No! No!"_

 _Ohhh! C-C-COMBO BREAKER!_

"Yatta!"

"Kuso!"

I grinned, turning to stare at Matsuda, who had easily rage-quit, slamming his controller down into the ground, as his own female avatar on screen with the Gothic Lolita outfit collapsed into a field of slimy tentacles. Whereas my large breasted blonde haired character wearing a magical girl outfit did a large victory dance.

"Hah! See? Boobies beat butts every single time!"

Matsuda spun towards me, giving me a glare. "How can you say that Issei? Butts are the desire of every hot blooded male! Those sweet, wonderful, firm backsides! Think of sizes! The uses! To feel those firm buns!"

I gave him a blank look. "Butts have their own appeal, but they're second place to breasts. I can't believe you'd even consider them higher than breasts – breasts are the pinnacle of the female form!"

He shook his head in a lamenting manner. "Look Issei, breasts have their uses, but they eventually grow old and sag – "

"Oi! Oi! Oi!" I could already feel myself getting incredibly nauseous at the imagery. Sagging breasts were perhaps one of my worst nightmares. "Don't go blaspheming breasts here! And so what if they get wrinkly, it's better than what happens when butts grow old!"

He recoiled as though I slapped him. "No way!"

I rapidly turned my attention to the only other person in the room, who had been content simply watching the videogames post-match tentacle scene.

"Motohama, back me up here? Boobies or butts?"

Motohama gave a slow deliberating nod, before he spoke. "Thighs."

I gave him a deadpan stare. "You're hopeless."

I watched as Matsuda let out a sigh. "Fine, fine, I don't think we'll be agreeing to anything today, but I still say butts are the best! Have you seen Koneko-chan, the school's mascot? She doesn't have much going for her in the chest area, but she's got those buns!"

"And thighs." Motohama interjected, leaving me gazing at both of them and ignoring the slight twitch in my eyes.

"Forget it. Let's just put something else on before you two keep blaspheming the breast gods."

At that, Motohama immediately perked up. "Oh yeah! Wasn't there supposed to be some new erotic harem anime airing today?"

I shrugged. "I dunno."

Matsuda gasped, rapidly getting into my face. "There was! Issei! You have to watch this – it's all about a guy that has an alien princess randomly show up in his bathtub with this long tail that gets her really horny and is really sensitive and – "

I placed my hand on his face and pushed him back. "Geez – I get it, just put it on and stop talking already."

I laid back and sighed as I watched Motohama disconnect the game console, and shook my head at Matsuda's giddiness. We had been friends since the start of our first year in Kuoh Academy, and now we were second years. I still remembered my first day stepping through the halls of the previously all-girl academy, and I may have been a little too enthusiastic about showing my appreciation for their forms. Maybe. Just a smidgen.

It wasn't my fault, well, not really. I was a hot blooded teenage boy enjoying his youth! There shouldn't be anything wrong with getting a little excited, considering how Kuoh Academy's uniforms seemed tailored to always allow panty flashes!

Still though, it was two years gone, and one to go. I wondered if I ever would get a girlfriend at this rate, it would be nice. Aside from the obvious benefits of finally getting to grope some actual fleshy mounds in my hands and take foot off the ground called virginity, I wouldn't really mind having someone to talk to other than Motohama and Matsuda.

"Oh! It's starting!

I sat upright in front of the television, as I listened to the theme song of the anime that had a pink-haired main female lead with a long, black slender tail. I noticed Matsuda already looking giddier, and paid no real heed to whether or not it was his hands in his pockets that caused the protusion in his pants or something else entirely.

"Trust me Issei, I can already see the markets being flooded with doujinshi for this anime!"

I shook my head and grinned. I supposed this was why I was friends with these two, as they wore their hearts so easily on their sleeve that I didn't have to worry about them complaining about my own perverted desires when theirs was much clearer. Of course, I was lucky that Matsuda's parents weren't around, as they usually were occupied at this time which allowed the three of us to sit down and watch hentai or play eroge games on the big TV in his living room.

This evening would have been just like any other, until the television screen singing the high-pitched tune of the girly J-Pop theme song, rapidly switched over to something else.

" _We interrupt your regular viewing to bring you a special news broadcast._ "

I heard as Matsuda gave a loud annoyed groan, and Motohama who had previously been perusing through a doujinshi sat up and adjusted his glasses.

" _This is happening live! We have received reports across the world of three unidentified individuals appearing and engaging in a battle with inhuman powers and abilities never before recorded in human history. Taking you now to our correspondents in Paris."_

There was a brief uneasiness that settled between three of us in the room, as all of us turned our gazes to each other at that moment.

" _Reporting live from Paris! As you can see, people are running and fleeing through the streets in terror as the battle of these unidentified beings has reached this point and – oh, oh – T-t-they – t-they have have just proceeded to tear down the Eiffle Tower and – OH MY GO –"_

There was an image of a giant scrap of metal launched towards the camera, before it went dark, and the slow, sound of static filled the room. The camera had rapidly returned to the Japanese news studio, where a similar silence filled the anchors.

"H-hey now... Issei, Motohama… this, this is a practical joke right? T-they are playing a prank on us right?"

My stomach felt uneasy, and I suddenly had the urge to rush to toilet, yet at the same time I could feel my hands began to grow colder and colder, and become moist all at once.

" _Live in New York! I've never seen a-anything like it! There is panic and mass hysteria as bodies are flying through buildings, and what has been identified as a pale-eyed woman with horns on her head has just utterly devastated the Statue of Liberty! Lady Liberty's head is now soaring through the air and it is – oh – OH SHIT SHIT SHIT! – "_

Once more, static and darkness, before the television returned back to the Japanese news room. I could see the news anchor, Mitsudo Ayaka, already shaking slightly in her seat, and suddenly the sound of my own heartbeats rapidly began to reach my ears as I found my mouth coalescing saliva.

" _Reporting from Rio De Janeiro! These unidentified beings have proven themselves faster than any living creature previously documented! The first has been identified as a woman, with horn-like appendages, and three eyes. With the aid of expert slow motion cameras, we have been able to identify the golden and black blurs as two males - h-hey! What are you doing? Give him back that camera! St-!"_

There was a crazed man on the screen, eyes panicky, hair messy, and nearly almost frothing at the mouth.

" _The WORLD is ENDING! It is over! THEY HAVE COME TO KILL US ALL! MANKIND is BEING PUNISHED!"_

The view of the man was obstructed as the camera showed only the ground, and instead all we heard was the audio.

" _Sir, sir, step away from –"_

" _It's the END! This is what we get for signing contracts with devils! This is GOD's RETRIBUTION!"_

" _Sir, put the gun down – sir, kindly put the weapon – "_

The heavy echo of a gunshot sounded so loudly I flinched backwards, almost as though the weapon had been fired beside me.

Then, once more, static, and darkness.

I could hear my own heavy breathing, feel the tingling of my skin as goosebumps ran up and down it, and my stomach continued to feel as though someone had placed a vortex deep within. I couldn't move, and I tried to open my mouth to say something, but all of us, all three of us found ourselves spellbound by inactivity.

" _This just in, mass lootings and riots are going on all over the world as pandemonium slowly begins to seep in. The United Nations and the Governments of the World are trying to restore order by informing citizens to keep calm and remain in their houses. Law Enforcement officials are attempting to dispel the looters, and a mandatory curfew has now been enforced –"_

My cellphone rang, the vibrations and the upbeat tone of the female voice I had allocated as my ringtone aided in snapping me out of stupor. I felt my cold shaky hands slowly move into my pockets and brought the device out, instantly recognizing the number as that of my mother.

" _Oh thank Kami he picked up! Issei-kun? Issei-kun? Are you alright?_ "

"Ka-san? I'm fine are you and tou-san –"

" _Your father and I are alright Issei-kun. Where are you?_ "

"I'm over at Matsuda's house – my friend from school –"

" _Alright Issei-kun. Just, stay there for now, the streets aren't safe, don't try to rush home, just stay there, and –_ "

The phone line went dead and I could feel my heart instantly stop.

"Ka-san? Ka-san?"

I rapidly tried the number back, only to hear the automated voice service telling me that the number was unavailable.

I could not breathe, my chest felt tight as I felt the dire need to rush back home as quickly as I could.

"I-Issei… look at this…"

My eyes turned to Motohama, who had brought out his phone and was rapidly scrolling through the internet. Everything, everywhere, on every page, on every screen, all of it was talking about the mysterious otherworldly beings.

 _#ENDTIMES OMG Is dis really d end of the world?!_

 _#alieninvasion I fukin knew it! Aliens r ril! We all gonna die!_

 _#APOCALYPSE Fck everything! The world is goin to shit!_

 _#JudgmentDay IT IS JUDGMENT DAY! HAVE WE MISSED HEAVEN?! IS THIS GOD's WILL?!_

Hashtags on everything and everyone was either covering up the panic, or asking questions. No one had answers, and it seemed to be making everything worse as minutes flew by.

I pushed aside his mobile device as I moved to change out of the comfort slippers and back into my shoes, scowling as I forced them on.

"I-Issei? What are you doing? Where are you going?"

"Home. I need to find out if my parents are safe."

"Are you insane? Didn't you listen to what they said?"

Of course I had listened. I had listened very well. Even now I was fighting down the urge for my legs to start shaking, and ignoring the constant heavy thumps that I could hear in my ears. Screw it, I was the only one my parents had, and they were the only ones I would ever bother calling my parents. If I couldn't at least rush over home to figure out what was going on, and to make sure they were safe, what kind of crummy son was I?

"Issei think about this! The safest place right now is inside, going outside will simply get you –"

There was the echo of a tremendous roar, the house shook and creaked, as giant, heaving thuds resounded, continued resounding, faster and faster as my heartbeat grew louder in my ears and the air seemed to be growing thinner and thinner.

"W-what is th –"

I never completed that sentence.

A giant purple _thing_ tore through the roof, descending down and slamming straight into the midst of our center, raining wood and metal on our forms as the initial force of the impact sent me soaring through the wooden door of the house.

Pain.

Pain.

Pain.

My body was screaming as though it had been lit on fire, tears stung at the corners of my eyes as I landed out on the street with a heavy thud, my back shrieking for mercy from the punishment it was enduring. My vision swam, the world spinning all along with it as the sharp ringing in my ears began to grow dull.

Splinters ran down my arm and it was bleeding heavily from having crashed through the door. I groaned as one particularly large piece of wood was imbedded deep into the flesh, just stopping before my elbow. I grit my teeth as I pulled it out, swearing as the jagged piece of wood eventually left with a sickening wet squelch. I tossed it to the side and panted, realizing that I was losing a lot of blood, and finding myself out of breath as I stared up to the sky.

My gaze turned upwards, to the light of the illuminating moon which cast upon a figure that made my heart stop for the second time that day.

It was a giant, a titan, a colossal warrior of purplish energy, taller than any mountain I had ever seen or attempted to climb, larger than anything I had ever read about in history books. It looked almost like a samurai, covered entirely in armor, and it seemed not to care about anything or anyone, as it charged and trampled buildings, people and cars underfoot.

My entire body was shaking as I watched the giant warrior leave, unable to avert my gaze from it for even the slightest of seconds, as the sounds of sirens blared all through the background, overheard by the polyphonic screams and yells that followed.

In no time at all, the sounds of fighter jets of the Air Force hit my ears, and I watched as they zoomed rapidly overhead, going in chase of the giant purple warrior.

My throat felt vaguely dry and it was only the feeling of blood running down my left arm and the stinging sensation of pain that aided in rapidly snapping my attention back to the immediate surroundings.

I didn't understand anything that was going on, all I did understand was that I had been blown through Matsuda's door, rather than being trampled underfoot, so I forced myself up, biting down on my lip as I negotiated with my body to ignore the pain, and stared at the house that I had been forced through.

I sharply inhaled.

It could not even be considered a house anymore, with only a few windows and walls being upright, with no roof at all to speak of, and with it being a large pile of wood, metal, and other items of debris.

I forced myself to stand even as my knees buckled, and staggered over to the house, my left foot dragging slowly behind my right, as I held by injured left arm with my somewhat undamaged right.

"M-M-Matsuda? M-M-Motohama? G-g-guys?"

I could not see any of them. They were gone.

No, not gone. Buried.

They were buried deep under a pile of debris, as my eyes widened on finding a hand stuck out and flailing uselessly from underneath, a hand I could easily recognize from how often I had given it a high-five and how often I had fistbumped with it.

"Motohama! Hold on! I'll – I'll – "

I began to realize that there was nothing I could do. My left hand was useless as it was, I could barely stand and walk, and there was no way I could remove the debris from on top of him with _both_ of my hands because I did not have that much strength to begin with, so doing it with one hand was completely unlikely. Attempting to remove the debris with one-hand while slowly getting dizzier from blood loss and suffering what must have been a concussion was impossible.

I still tried anyway.

"Hang on Motohama!"

My right hand dug into the dirt and debris, moving objects over with heavy grunts as quickly as I could manage. I let out a roar of effort as I pushed over a couch, using both of my hands for that feet and ignoring as blood began to gush out faster from it, staining my uniform and drenching me red. I growled as I lifted aside the television feeling my muscles beginning to cry from their exertion, and my knees wane in strength from each and every object I pushed through.

I did not stop because his hand was still flailing, because he was still alive, because I could not lose my friend, because the world had gone to hell and I needed people who could make sense of any of this, who could make sense of anything.

In the end, with a final grunt, I cleared through the last bits and pieces of dust and debris, and found the coughing, injured and bleeding form of Motohama underneath.

"I-I-Issei? Y-you –"

"Come on! Let's find Matsuda together and then we need to get you to a hospital!"

I gestured my arm out to him, and at the very least he still had the strength needed to take it, as he leaned on my shoulder.

My vision began to fade, as black and white spots began appearing left and right, and I grit my teeth as I shook my head.

No, not yet. I couldn't afford to pass out just yet! I needed to find Matsuda and make sure he was safe. I needed to get to a hospital and make sure everyone was okay. I needed to find my parents, and hope to heavens that they were also in one piece.

I couldn't… pass out… just… yet…

"Issei? ISSEI!"


	2. Raynare and Motohama

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or High School DxD.**

 **Note: This story is written in 1st Person POV. Apologies, but I will not change this.**

* * *

 **Et Cetera**

* * *

 **Ray**

The bladed light felt cold and hot in my hands at the same time, as I spun it around, and in one motion, allowed it to penetrate through the chest of the human that was stupid enough to think I was a weak, feeble teenage girl he could take advantage of.

It was amusing watching as his previous fearful glee and exhilaration rapidly contorted into pain, and I twisted the spear of light, going deeper until I felt the blade puncture the heart of the man. With a wave of the hand, I dissipated it, and watched as he fell to the floor, blood rapidly stretching out from his form.

I let out a brief huff of breath as I swung my hair to the side. Perhaps it was because I was utilizing my 'Yuuma Amano' disguise that made the foolish human men think they could force themselves on me. Still, changing into my other outfit would most likely have had the same effect, if not worse. Of course in this lawless situation, every dried up virgin with slack morals felt that the world was ending, so they needed to lose their virginity before they died.

I shook my head. Humans were concerned over the most trifling of things, and it seemed that when it came down to it, they were no different from animals in their primal nature. As much as I hated to admit it, even devils were better, because at least they did not pretend to be prim and proper one minute, and then descend into chaos and murder the next.

I had skipped around the streets, watching with amusement as the chaos from the invading otherworldly gods had turned the humans into something else entirely. Violence was first, as people felt that they could get away with attacking their hated enemies in a time when the police was too occupied to prevent them. Looting came second, as I saw humans barging into other houses and stores and stealing everything from foods to gadgets.

My eyebrow rose as I spotted one human in particular, scurrying away with a device, before he was pounced upon by another, and the second human proceeded to slam the head of the first into the concrete, again and again and again until it was a bloody mess.

Wait a second… I blinked, realizing that I knew who that second human was. The white hair and priests robe gave it away almost too easily.

He turned his gaze towards me, and his eyes beamed.

"Ray Ray-chan, what brings my favorite fallen angel all the way out to this fucking shitstorm?"

"Selzen. What in the world are you doing?"

"Oh, this?" he gestured to the bleeding and unconscious, if not dead human under him, and I simply rolled my eyes "This little fucker here thought he could mug me. Can you fucking believe it?"

My lips twitched. Mugging Freed Selzen? Some people were just destined for bad luck.

"So Ray-chan, here I was minding my own fucking business and stealing an Xbox when this fucker – "

He slammed the man's head into the ground for emphasis.

"Thought he could fucking grab it from me, and get away. So you know what I did? I let him have it and I gave him sixty fucking seconds to get away, because I'm a nice guy you know?"

I found it hard to take him seriously when he smiled like that, with blood coated all over his jacket.

"Of course, if poor shitface was as fast as he was stupid, he just might have fucking got away."

He twirled his gun in his hand, and then placed it at the back of the man's head.

"A fucking shame."

I ignored the gunshot and the proceeding splatter of blood as I shook my head. Freed Selzen was insane for a reason, and there was a reason he had become a rogue exorcist in the first place.

"Ah! Can you feel the fucking air Ray-chan? I mean, it's fucking great! All these goody two-shoes people running around and stealing and looting and killing cause they're scared shitless! Fuck, it's like I have a million little brothers and sisters in crime now."

He turned his gaze to me.

"So, when the fuck is the big cheese and the brass gonna decide to ruin my fun?"

I rose an eyebrow. "What?"

"You know what I'm fucking talking about. What's Ass-ass-el and Cock-a-bel and the rest of the fucking 'els' doing about the three motherfucking gods that decided to give a middle finger to the secrecy biz and have pissing-fest all over the world?"

I rumpled my nose in distaste. "How am I supposed to know?"

"Well considering how badly Ass-ass-el must want his dick inside of you, I figured it's one of the things you'd ask while fondling his balls."

"Fuck you Selzen."

"Time and place Ray-chan, just fucking name the time and place."

I rolled my eyes. "I regret ever mentioning that Azazel-sama asked me to keep a watch out on that boy."

Hyoudou Issei was his name, but not that it mattered at this point. My plans to ask him out on a date and kill him were thrown out the window the second those three gods started duking it out across the world. Assuming the boy wasn't already dead from collateral damage, and assuming none of his parents or family had died, it would take a serious level of stupid for me to 'ask' someone on a 'date' when the world seemed to be ending.

"But, wait, you seriously don't have a fucking clue?"

"What?"

He frowned. "I mean, I know that mass amnesia is out of the fucking question unless they want to start rebuilding monuments and replacing mountains, oh, and fucking bringing back every single shitty person that has died so far. So we aren't fucking covering this up…"

He shook his head. "Hell, the fight's still fucking raging, and people are still dying shitty deaths. So if we aren't covering this up, what the fucking hell are the Fallen Angel brass gonna do?"

I rose an eyebrow at him. I wasn't exactly a powerful being in the Grigori, and I was closer to an infantry soldier who had a small rag-tag group of followers than I was to any one with notable rank and power. I only had two wings after all, and there were those with four wings, and six wings who ranked far higher than me, and likewise were far stronger. The Ten-Winged Fallen Angels were easily considered as Cadre-Class, and the Twelve-Winged ones, were pretty much considered the most powerful.

Amongst this hierarchy, I was a relative nobody. I had not a single clue as to whether the Commanders of the Grigori or Azazel-sama had decided to intervene in the godly battle, because who was going to give that type of information to me?

"I don't know."

"Well what _do_ you know, cause I'm fucking stumped right now."

I sighed. "What I do know is that the Fallen Angels of the Grigori cannot do anything that would break the secrecy, without risking retribution by the Angels and the Devils."

Freed rose an eyebrow. "That only fucking works if you're assuming that the 'els' and fucking devil-scum all agree to put their hands in their pants and rub themselves off instead of stopping the fight."

I blinked. "Well yes. But… now that I think about it... why wouldn't they intervene?"

If the world was being destroyed, why would the Angels and Devils sit back and let it happen without stopping it? Or stopping those responsible for it?

As a matter of fact, the fight had been raging for hours now, yet, not a single sign of any intervention was being made.

Freed snorted. "Why the fuck _would_ they? There are over five thousand shitty factions and shittier gods being worshipped by humanity, and yeah, the Judeo-Christian or Abrahamic Faction or whatever the fuck you want to call it is the largest, but why the fuck do _they_ have to be the one to save all of humanity?"

The Exorcist scoffed, and, for a brief second, behind that insanity, I was slowly reminded that this man had been considered an exceptional genius at age thirteen.

"I'm guessing it's the fucking whole 'who-will-bell-the-cat' shit being played on a fucking worldwide scale. Cause the faction that intervenes first, could either,"

He brought up two fingers.

"A, get their asses mildly kicked by the fighters, and run home fucking screaming with their tails behind their legs."

"Or B, get completely annihilated so bad that their unborn children will still be reeling from the fucking smack down."

I would have claimed that it was impossible, for the factions to be overpowered by just three beings, except it had almost happened before, with just two beings, namely, the Heavenly Dragons. Those two beings had put a halt to their war and caused all three factions to ally together just to beat them, and even then, the battle had been a close one.

However, these three that had appeared seemed far more powerful than the English and Welsh Dragon. I had seen the sheer power these beings possessed first hand. In speed alone they easily trumped any angel in history, from Raphael to Gabriel and to Michael, and in destructive power…

There was almost no contest.

"Wait, so you're saying that the reason no one has interfered yet, is because they're actually scared of being beaten?"

To picture Michael, the Archangel, scared of being beaten? It was a thought that made me somewhat giddy and excited.

"No, it's more than just a fear of a thorough asswhooping, it's prolly cause if they do get taken out, then they'll be caught bent over with their pants down when the other factions come knocking with a raging boner."

Oh.

If the devils or angels fought the intruders and got taken out or even reasonably weakened, they'd be left open to attack from any other faction.

I realized that at the same time, if all of humanity was wiped out, everyone would lose because the factions gained their powers from humanity's reverence.

Every faction losing was better than only _you_ losing, because if you had to choose between everyone in a classroom getting punished for a crime all of you committed, or only you getting punished for the crime, you would choose the latter.

So it was not an issue of a lack of deities or angels willing to stop the fighting beings, it was more of the issue that what they stood to lose by interfering vastly outstripped what they stood to gain.

And because, when it came down to it, no one really cared about the humans. Not the devils, not the gods, and not even the angels.

I sighed and shook my head. "Simply thinking about all of this is making my head hurt."

"It's because you're fucking stupid, and the one time you finally use that dumbass brain of yours, it's getting tired from the strain."

I gave him a glare. "Watch that tongue of yours Selzen –"

"Or what? We'll have our own throw down right here? I say bring it the fuck on! I've been antsy for a good fight ever since I saw that purple titan samurai god slice Mount Fuji in half!"

"How would you have seen that? Mount Fuji isn't for miles!"

He gave me a blank look. "There are things called T – fucking – V, and inter – fucking – net. Fuck woman, get with the times, you're embarrassing me here."

I blinked. "Wait, there are videos showing the battle of the gods?"

"For fuck sakes, that's all there are videos of for the past twenty-four hours!"

He reached into his coat pocket, bringing from it a small device that I recognized as a smartphone.

"Ah, here we are… should be able to figure out where the gods are now."

"I – I don't think that's necessary."

I no longer saw the need for that, especially when there was a large, ginormous titan of purple energy falling from high above, directly aiming towards our general location.

As always, Freed had an appropriate quip.

"Eat your fucking heart out Godzilla."

* * *

 **Motohama**

"Issei? ISSEI!"

No! No! No! Why did have to pass out now? I groaned as he went limp and heavy in my arm. Within seconds, I was swaying to the side and stumbling over my own two feet as I struggled to keep him upright, but I had never been an athletic person. No, I was Motohama the Ero-Megane, the perverted glasses who could calculate a girl's three sizes at a single glance.

The good that did me now.

I grit my teeth. Maybe if I had spent more time increasing my strength instead of my stamina via method of fleeing from angry hordes of girls, I would have been able to lift Issei up.

Who was I kidding? I could only pull my own bodyweight up enough to do a single push up, and that was a single feat of strength, not the continuous task of lifting and moving with someone.

"Kuso!"

He collapsed to the ground, and I followed suit, swearing as my chin slammed against the hard floor and made my teeth slam against each other with more force than I would like. I could already feel my chest rapidly expanding and contracting as I was out of breath in seconds. At least, I had been able to get us out of the wreckage, unto the street, where the three of us would be able to get some help.

Three… of us?

"Oh."

Matsuda was still in there, buried somewhere amongst the wreckage, and I needed to find him, but at the same time –

I turned my blurry vision over to Issei, noticing how he was slowly losing more and more blood. My hands were completely stained red with his blood, and the sinking feeling in my stomach came as I realized that Issei would die if he kept bleeding out like that.

At the same time, Matsuda could still be there, alive, suffocating slowly from the debris.

If I rushed over to try and unbury Matsuda, Issei would die from blood loss. If I decided to rush Issei to somewhere safe, Matsuda would die from asphyxiation, that was assuming he wasn't already –

No. He could not be dead. He was not dead. He was not dead.

Except, I had no way of knowing that. I wanted to rush over and start checking, to start unburying, but if I was wrong, if I was wrong and he – he was dead, then I'd have sacrificed Issei for nothing.

Even after Issei had struggled to save my life.

I bit my lip, biting it harder and harder. There was no chance of me even successfully finding Matsuda, my glasses had broken when the building had caved in and astigmatic as I was, my odds of successfully spotting him out in the darkness was slim.

So, it was either I saved one of my friends and abandoned the other, or I let one die as blindly scurried through to see if the other was still alive.

"GODDAMN IT!"

How? How did I even go about making a choice like that? Why? Why did I even have to make this choice? Everything was going just fine today, everything was good and happy and we were sitting around playing videogames and watching anime, how did I go from that, to deciding which of my two friends possibly lived or died?

I had to choose between Issei or Matsuda.

Except, it wasn't really a choice at this point.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

My voice cracked as I turned away from Matsuda's house.

I turned away from the wreckage, and moved over to Issei, gritting my teeth as I tore a large portion of my uniform's left sleeve, and made a makeshift bandage as I wrapped the cloth around his bleeding arm. The sound of ripping echoed again as I tore the other sleeve and continued the process, doing everything I could to make sure that Issei did not bleed to death.

I had not been able to stop the bleeding completely, but I was able to do enough to make sure it slowed down considerably. With that, I lifted him up and carried him on my back, and moved, left foot slowly in front of right, all the while making sure that my gaze did not once turn back.

I didn't know if this was really the end of the world, or if Godzilla had suddenly decided to leap out of the movie screen and terrorize us, but I did know that in times like these, the best place to head to was somewhere with shelter and all the necessary things needed to survive. Years and years of playing and reading about a possible apocalypse came in handy, as I thought about the best place to go to in case anything like this ever happened.

Kuoh Academy.

I knew for a fact that the nurse's office was stocked with medical supplies, the cafeteria was stocked with food, and the numerous, numerous clubs meant different, potentially life-saving tools and equipment.

I headed up unto the main streets and roads, noticing how the areas which were usually occupied with life and people and cars was dead silent. There were giant indentions that looked like massive footprints leading out from the tarmac, and the echoes of sirens and fighter jets were the only sounds that could be heard far off in the distance. In my immediate vicinity, there was absolutely no one I could make out with my blurry vision.

Chalking it up to my own sight limitations, I moved further and further until I felt a burning sensation of hope upon coming across a police vehicle.

"Officer! Officer!"

The police officer was sitting inside the car and the door was open, yet for some odd reason he couldn't hear me. I growled as I felt my hands burn from carrying Issei all the while, and I forced myself to move forward to the officer's position, staggering as Issei's weight messed up my balance.

I crashed into the floor for the second time that day, Issei's heavy form landing on top of me just as I fell in front of the patrol car's open door.

"Oi! Officer! Officer! Didn't you hear me –"

I turned my gaze up, and I immediately resisted the urge to throw up.

Bile filled my mouth as I noticed the policeman in the car had a jagged piece of glass sticking out from his throat and his left eyeball. The man's mouth was left dryly open, and his other eye stared blankly at nothingness, his form slouched over the steering wheel in a manner that would have made it look like he was sleeping.

I rushed up from the ground, faster than I had ever done before in my entire life, as I looked at the dead policeman, I idly realized that I was wheezing, as every breath felt as though I was inhaling fire into my lungs.

There was a blur of static, that sent my heart leaping to my chest, as the police vehicle's radio went on.

" _All units on high alert. The purple titan crashed into the Akashima Penitentiary. I repeat, purple titan crashed into the Akashima Penitentiary. Prison Break in progress, and wanted criminals at large. All units are –"_

I could not hear what happened next, as there was the heavy echo of a thunderclap, and a rapid golden blur slammed into the pavement not too far away from where I was, sending gravel and cement airborne.

 _Shit. Shit. Shit._

I grabbed Issei's unconscious body as gingerly as I could, and hid it behind the patrol car, just as I placed my back behind it, taking slow, methodic breaths.

 _1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, –_

I started counting to a hundred inside of my head to keep myself calm, despite how badly my legs were quivering and despite how I could hear blood pounding in my own ears. I summoned up enough will to peep around the corner of the patrol car, years of experience of peeping coming in handy for the first time in my life.

There was someone on fire.

Except, this wasn't normal fire, and the person did not look uncomfortable in it at all. The fire was a brilliant gold that seemed to surround its entire form and it illuminated the area far more brightly than any of the streetlights could ever have done.

Then, all at once, its gaze turned to my position.

My heart stopped.

This was one of the alien beings that had been fighting around the world… and he had turned to me, to _me!_

I would have begun laughing hysterically if not that it would have given me away even further, except at this point my death was certain. I could not run, as these creatures had raced from Paris to New York, and from New York to Rio De Janeiro in minutes. Me? My best feat of speed was failing to outrun girls who tried to kill me for gazing at their naked bodies.

I could not fight. The news broadcast had implied that they could rip out giant steel structures and send it airborne, whereas my best feat of physical strength was losing to an old lady using chopsticks.

I had no delusions in my mind of even as much as lasting a single second against it, and I had to silence my choked sobs as I knew that death was imminent.

I had waited for a second. Then another. And another, and as my heart began to detach from my throat, I summoned a bit of willpower to peep beside the patrol car once more.

The figure was gone.

I let out a deep breath of air as the tears had ran freely.

I was going to live to see another day! I was not going to die here! I was not –

"Yo!"

"GAHGLE!"

My heart pounded viciously against my ribcage as my eyes widened and spittle flew out of my mouth on sheer instinct. My lungs were burning and felt as though they were being stretched by talons as my hand grasped my chest, and I rasped out a breath.

My gaze turned up, slowly, until my blurry vision came upon the golden flamed creature in front of me

It looked human.

It was smiling.

It. Was. _Smiling._

 _Smiling at me._

"Are you alr–"

"I DON'T WANT TO DIE! LEAVE ME ALONE! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

I scrambled away as fast as I could, my chest constricting as I did not hesitate to leave Issei to his fate.

"Hey! Wait! I'm not –"

"LEAVE ME ALONE! DON'T KILL ME!"

I ran faster than I had ever done before, feeling my feet hit the pavement hard enough for each strike to send waves of pain down my leg.

Except I knew my fate was sealed. It had appeared in front of me, with seemingly no effort on its part.

Hearing about it on the news was one thing, witnessing it first hand was something else entirely.

At least when I had been running from girls, I knew there was a small chance, however tiny it was, there was that spark of hope that meant I could escape.

With _it_ , there was not even a slimmer of hope. I was a boy staring up at a god, and my entire life from birth till now became useless, as though my entire existence was a joke that people only laughed at out of courtesy.

I was an ant, a small, tiny, insignificant ant that had no business standing before a dragon.

"I-I d-don't w-want to d-die…"

The world around me grew darker, and darker, as the creature's golden flame shone. Why was everything going black?

The creature was saying something… what was it saying…?

Why was my chest feeling colder and colder?

Why was I suddenly gazing into the skies?

Why could I not breathe?


	3. Irina and Issei II

**An update for this story _at last_? Yes, because it's Christmas. Well... technically anyway.**

 **Please be warned, that by virtue of this story's theme, this is a dark story. Hence, viewer discretion is advised for the latter parts of this chapter. And please note, that I do not bash characters, everything I do has a reason.**

* * *

 **Et Cetera**

* * *

" _This just in, the military has been deployed into the city, and the troops are doing the best they can to quell the looters and attempt to restore order –_ "

" _Civilian unrest continues as people demand answers as to the identity of these otherworldly beings that have left hundreds of thousands dead in their wake, and millions more injured –"_

" _The President of the United Nations is scheduled to make a statement to the citizens in response to the threats and panic, and the ever-rising crime rates which have escalated within the past twelve hours –"_

" _Ladies and Gentlemen, I stand before you today not as the Leader of the UN, but as a mere man, and I know that this is a time of terror and panic, of fear and uncertainty, as we as a species have never experienced widespread global destruction on the level that we see it today. Despite your fears, despite your uncertainty, I plead with you, with all of you, not to abandon your humanity. I plead with you, not to forget who you were before this chaos, not to forget that whatever actions you take today, however minor, will spell the fate of humanity, and the path that we as a species have chosen to follow –"_

" _A mere two hours after the speech by the United Nations President, and reports are coming in that the world major superpowers have elected to utilize a nuclear strategy, to the containment and elimination of the three monsters that are now considered humanity's greatest threat –"_

"… _And with the subsequent arming of hundreds of nuclear missiles by no less than twenty world powers, ladies and gentlemen, for the first time in human history, the doomsday clock has struck midnight."_

* * *

 **Irina**

 **7:24pm**

 **Vatican City**

I had never expected to meet a scene like this in my entire life.

"Protect his Holiness! Do not let them get closer to him!"

It was like a nightmare, a horrible, dreadful nightmare that made me want to go back into the dorms and crawl under the covers as I pretended nothing was real.

"FATHER! FATHER PLEASE I NEED ANSWERS! FATHER PLEASE!"

"WHY WON'T YOU LET US SPEAK WITH THE FATHER?!"

Part of me still believed that I was dreaming, and that any moment now, Novia-chan would wake me up with a fist to the head, scowling at me and telling me to prepare for morning mass. Part of me believed that I would have dismissed the horrid nightmare as I smiled, shook my head and told her for the umpteenth time that I was a practitioner of the Anglican faith.

"FATHER TELL US! IS THIS THE RAPTURE? ARE THE ANGELS COMING?! WE NEED YOUR GUIDANCE FATHER!"

Except it wasn't a dream. Nothing cemented it more strongly in my mind than the sight of Novia-chan standing a few feet away from me, her teeth gritted in equal frustration as she pushed back the crowds of manic, desperate individuals all eager to flock around His Holiness, all eager to seek his guidance in these troubled times.

"WHERE IS GOD FATHER?! WHERE IS YOUR FUCKING GOD?!"

My eyes widened at the cry of the manic man, and so did Xenovia, as fear gripped me upon witnessing the man in the crowd – the man possessing what I could easily recognize as a sleek pistol.

The moment of distraction caused by the manic cry cost me, as I was elbowed harshly in my right eye, my entire vision smacking black. I resisted the urge to curse as I was unable to keep back the swarm of people gathering around, and from that one single lapse, they came rushing in like Moses striking against the rock in anger.

"Shit! They've broken the perimeter!"

The sound of gunfire ricocheted harshly through my ears, as I turned my limited gaze unto the form of the crazed armed man whose fingers had finally pressed against the trigger, the bullet launching through the air and into the back of the head of a retreating Cardinal.

The wild panic screams came first, adding madder fuel to what seemed to be an unending nightmare, and then the words of the Pope's personal protection force became the uranium of my dread.

"They're armed! They're armed! Open fire – protect His Holiness!"

A part of me, still hoping that this apocalypse had not completely ruined the world, had believed, with wide-eyed optimism that the ammunition fired was going to be rubber bullets, which would serve as a deterrent to the crowd. Despite the fact that they had not made provision for such ammunition beforehand, and despite the fact that the onslaught of looting and chaos throughout the city did not give room for much leniency.

Still, they would not actually try to kill people just because they wanted to meet the pope for answers right?

Right?

The sight of a bullet smashing dead-center, into the head of a young teenage girl in front of me, splashing my face with her blood and wide-eyed gaze of terror brought me to my personal purgatory.

"W-why f-f-father –"

Her final moments, however lucid she could manage, was spent attempting to make the sign of the cross, before she fell back, eyes hollow and lifeless.

The sound of my scream was lost amongst the rain of bullets and cries for mercy.

I wanted to rush over to the men who were gunning down innocents and tell them to stop.

 _Tell?_

No. I wanted to _make_ them stop. To break their bones, to cut off their arms with a swing of my sword, to snap their joints in place and force them to open their eyes and gaze – _gaze_ upon the sight that they had brought – the sight that they were creating.

Except, I didn't have to.

Even amidst a rain of bullets, amidst frantic screams and cries, Novia-chan had heard me.

It was a blur of movement and action, one that my haze-filled mind could barely pay any attention to, yet, I knew, as I heard the sound of gunfire stopping, and the angry screams and yells, I knew that she had taken action.

"H-help me…"

My gaze, tired as it was turned towards the location where I had heard the voice, soft, sweet, innocent –

My heart stopped as I identified the owner, a young girl, so young, so, so, _so_ young –

My feet had moved before my brain had commanded it, and I found myself kneeling at her side.

Her eyes, dull and brown as they were turned up to me even as her entire body shook.

"I-I- I don't wanna die –"

"Shh… You – you're going to be alright okay? You're not going to die – you're going to be just fine –"

Part of me would always wonder, if the lie I had told the girl was for her sakes, or for mine.

My lips were forced into the only smile I could manage to give, yet I couldn't stop the trembling of my hands, nor could I stop my gaze from catching glimpses of her bullet riddled body.

"P-please… p-please help me… p-please…"

I swallowed the lump growing in my throat and ignored the burning sensations I could feel rise up my gullet. I wanted to help her – I desperately wanted to. The fact that no emergency lines were working, that no ambulances would be dispatched, that hospitals were already filled to the brim from the resulting chaos, that I was not a miracle maker – none of that had mattered to me, none of it – all that mattered at that moment, at that instance, was saving the life of the little girl before me.

"Please, Lord. Please – father – Please! If there is one thing I ask of you, just one thing that you should do for me, just one thing and I will never bother you again – Please, please save this girl's life."

My voice cracked.

"Please."

Silence.

Silence and nothingness.

That was all I could perceive as I watched the light in the eyes of the girl before me grow dim, as her final gaze wrenched at my soul, in an almost pitying manner, an almost sympathetic understanding, as if to say:

 _At least, you tried._

Except, I hadn't.

All I had done was weep and pray – was to believe, to _believe_ that _something_ would happen –

I could have rushed her to the nearest medical van or station, or find the nearest first aid kit or at least I could have tried to do _something_ –

Yet all I had done, was pray.

All I had done… was pray.

"…ina… …rina… IRINA!"

" _What?!_ "

I had flung forth the full weight of my burdened heart upon Xenovia, neither having the mind nor the will nor the _faith_ to do anything else.

Until, I found her, kneeling, her head bowed, as a pristine white feather landed on the ground before me.

My gaze, slow as it was turned to the heavens, and I saw them, descending down upon the earth as beings of ephemeral purpose and power, as guardians of light and foretellers of the Almighty –

The sky was filled with bright light, and like stars ceaselessly, the assembly of Heaven had arrived.

Yet, in spite of the arrival of these beings of hope and of virtue, in spite of watching how people got down on their knees and wept and prayed, and placed their hands up in reverence, in spite of the feeling of joy and elation from the evidence of man's salvation –

I looked unto the body of the dead girl in my arms –

And all I felt, was _rage_.

* * *

 **Issei**

 **2:54am**

 **Japan**

" _ **Wake.**_ _"_

 _My entire body ached. It burned and it stung, it was sore and tired, and it pleaded with me, repetitively, for me to simply stay down, to rest, to conserve my energy._

" _ **Wake.**_ _"_

 _Yet, a voice kept beckoning towards me, kept stirring me, reciting that one word as though it were the only thing in the world that mattered. The voice seemed to have no care or concern for how tired I was, or for how I just wanted to merely sleep… to drift into a nice, peaceful sleep filled with large breasts I could use as pillows…_

" _ **WAKE.**_ _"_

 _The voice had washed over me like a physical wave, stirring me to open my eyes –_

 _My heart stopped as I found myself in the presence of two gargantuan, reptilian eyes._

" _W-w-wha –" incoherent mutterings came out of my mouth as I glanced around, and found myself floating in a large void of darkness, and the only thing which seemed to be before me was the large eyes._

" _ **Pathetic.**_ _"_

 _I swallowed dryly, as the creature eventually emerged forward from the darkness, revealing a scaly, red… dragon._

 _My mind was whirling at a hundred miles a minute in the presence of the creature before me, and bitterly, I realized that my entire body was trembling._

" _W-who – w-what –"_

I let out a sharp gasp of air, as a series of harsh hacking coughs emerged from my throat. Phlegm and saliva and blood mixed and coalesced in a manner that I had to spit to the side, and no sooner had I turned did my entire body light up in pain.

"Haha! He's still alive after all!"

Everything was hurting, hurting far worse than it had in my weird dream. I had absolutely no sense of direction, and my disorientation was only made worse by the loud, overwhelming sounds of laughter and cacophony.

"W-wha – where –"

Two loud claps echoed into my ears and immediately sent my system wide and alert. It was only until I felt the lingering stings that I realized I had been slapped.

My eyes immediately opened to the fullest, as the first thing that came to my attention was the fact that I was bound, being restricted in a manner that prevented me from moving, and allowing me conclude that I was bound to a chair.

My daze wore off as I realized that despite this fact, I was still moving, and I was able to make out shapes and objects in front of me, which then drew my conclusion that I was inside a spacious vehicle of some sort – most likely a bus.

"Now that we've got your attention boy,"

A sense of dread filled me up as I noticed the men in the vehicle, their orange jumpsuits immediately giving them away as convicts from Akashima Penitentiary.

The first one, a large, buff looking man with bald head and a tattoo wrapped around his left eye gave me a large condescending sneer.

"Never had a pretty boy before. He's definitely much better looking than the ugly fuckers back in that shithole."

My eyes, slowly, surely, and inexplicably widened the very second the man's utterance had left his mouth.

"Y-you can't –!"

A large meaty fist made impact with my mouth and I parted with two of my front teeth. Blood followed the departure, as did my willpower and defiance. I was already weak and delirious from blood loss and my injuries – the compounding effects of more physical damage merely sapped away whatever strength I had left.

"We can do _whatever_ we want, pretty boy. In case you didn't get the memo – the world is fucking over, so that means those who rule are those who have the _power_ to rule."

I glanced around the bus, filled with different men of varying builds and physiques, all laughing in my direction, and it took all I had not to release my bowels and soil myself.

Whatever was left of my mind that wasn't delirious, or agonizing in pain, or contemplating the easiest way to end my suffering, was wondering what had happened to Motohama. It was wondering whether my parents were still safe –

It was wondering if I could just beg them to kill me and save myself any more suffering.

Except, I was a coward.

I was afraid to die.

Even in this mess, in this nightmare, the thought of dying terrified me.

It terrified me more than the thought of living in this apocalypse.

The bald tattooed man gave a large, intimidating grin as he placed his large hand on my head. I could feel the pressure of his phalanges through my hair, hard against my cranium as though all it would take were for him to squeeze and he would crush my skull as easily as a fruit.

I couldn't fight back even if I wanted to, not with one working arm, not in a delirious and pain-ridden state, and certainly not against such odds.

I knew it. The bald man knew it. All the men in the bus knew it, as their sickened grins grew wider and wider.

A small part of me wondered if their expressions right now was the same one I wore whenever I was perving on girls.

 _It was horrifying._

"The strong take what they can pretty boy, and right now, what we want…" he licked his lips "…Is a nice, little… _bitch_."

A pair of rough hands tore at my shirt –

And from that point on, I remembered nothing.


	4. Ross, Freed and Fang

**I quit writing fan fiction for about six months due to personal issues and progressing from being an undergraduate to being unemployed. Decided to come back a bit - so this chapter is majorly to shake off the dust. Forgive any cobwebs that may have accumulated over time. And enjoy - to those who enjoy.**

* * *

 **Et Cetera**

* * *

 **Rossweisse**

"So, it has come to this."

I turned my attention to the All-Father. He stroked his beard. Once, twice, and a third time, his eyes closed in contemplation. I wanted to ask something, or to say something, anything, in order to remove the oppressive air against the room. I preferred the All-Father when he was laughing and smiling jovially, grinning, and even making perverted jokes at my expense.

I would take the harsh reminder about my constant lack of a love-life, over the cold chill which was present on his face.

We stood at the Bifrost Bridge, Heimdall, standing, his sword placed in front of him. Lord Thor stood beside the All-Father, and, even Loki was present, a small, ironic smirk on his face. I resisted the urge to say something to him, as we looked on towards Midgard, and noticed the destruction and chaos that lay beneath.

Loki chuckled.

"Do you believe any of this to be humorous?"

The words had slipped out of my mouth before I could rein myself in. My breath rapidly increased as I resisted the urge to draw my blade and smite down the man who would dare make light of the suffering and torment of millions.

He turned his gaze to me, a sneer on his face. "Watch your tone, Valkyrie."

"No. The noble Rossweisse is right." I felt my cheeks burn slightly, as Lord Thor himself spoke up in my defense.

"Brother, you would laugh in the face of the torment of the Midgardians?"

Loki merely chuckled once more. "And what would you have me do _dearest_ brother? Weep? Mourn? For the lives of those that I could care not the slightest?"

I growled. "They are innocents! Dying! Suffering by the thousands –"

"And here you are, _arguing_ with me about it."

The response caught me off guard. I couldn't stop myself from flinching, nor could I from stepping back, even as I clenched my fists and grit my teeth.

"Hate me all you want Valkyrie –" Loki said, his palpable sneer never leaving his face. "But you are aware, that if we truly wanted to help them, we _could_. But… we're _not_. The All-Father, bless his _eternal wisdom_ , must have some, _justifiable_ reason, for remaining here, _safe,_ from the danger and conflict."

"You _dare!_ "

"Rossweisse."

Lord Odin's voice stilled my movement, though, just barely. I could still hear the sound of my own breaths, still feel the slight pounding in my ears and the phantom itch to draw my blade and cleave down the offender who would dare suggest that the All-Father did not want to save the lives of the humans because he was… _afraid._

That – that couldn't possibly be the case right?

I turned my eyes back towards the All-Father, and his expression was silent, and grim.

No –

"All-Father –"

It wasn't possible.

"I have seen the faces of those who attack Midgard," Heimdall spoke, his voice stirring me. "They are Outsiders. Beings from a world beyond my perception – their powers…"

The taste of copper assaulted my mouth. It was only then I realized how hard I was biting down on my teeth.

"It is time."

I snapped my attention towards the All-Father, as did everyone else at the three words he uttered.

"Father?"

"Heimdall. Share with them what you see."

The Gatekeeper of the Bifrost closed his eyes, and he opened them once more, before, a small smile appeared on his face.

"The sentinels of Heaven have descended to Midgard."

I blinked, before, slowly, my eyes widened.

"Angels?"

The All-Father spun around, facing all of us. For the first time since I had known and served him, the man in front of me was not a peaceful and benevolent ruler. He was not a jovial and friendly father. He was not a perverted and ebullient old man.

No. The man in front of me, was the Ruler and King of Asgard.

"WARRIORS OF ASGARD!"

His roar stirred them. Materializing, one after the other, in the hundreds, in the thousands, the armies of Odin gathered. My breathing felt lighter, a shiver trembled down my form, and a weight, a heavy burden, fell from my shoulders.

"Midgard faces a threat. It faces an invasion of beings from this realm. It faces an attack by Outsiders – they have come to destroy what was never theirs."

It was the first time I saw the All-Father switch his robes, a majestic conflagration of tiny lights, like sparkling fireflies, engulfed him. Gone were the simple robes, and in place, stood a garment of battle, an armor that all Asgardians had sworn to never again see – The Destroyer.

"The Angels have descended down in protection of their home, and we, the proud warriors of Asgard, WILL NOT SIT IDLY BY!"

The roars were deafening, the chants were ear-numbing, yet, completely uplifting.

"We will show Midgard," he paused, "Nay, we will show all the Nine Realms, the Angels, the Humans, the Devils, and all the Pantheons, the STRENGTH OF ASGARD!"

"FOR ASGARD!"

"FOR ASGARD!"

The battle cries had gotten me wound up, and I did not even realize when I had begun chanting alongside with them, chanting, with my people, who I _knew_ , would never idly sit back and watch as dozens of innocents died. I _knew_ , that we would fight – that we would protect the world, even if it came at the price of exposing the supernatural to all of humanity. Their survival was the most important thing, and I was glad and proud, as we trooped out through the Bifrost, to be an Asgardian.

" **Tomogoroshi no Haikotsu**."

Until all of it – turned to _ash_.

* * *

 **Freed**

The most dangerous people in the fucking world are the guys who have got nothing to lose. When the chips are down and you know you're fucked, sideways, downways and all-ways, then you go out, and you say 'fuck it'.

Now these people aren't just dangerous because they are willing to do insane, life-ending shit, they're dangerous because they're willing to do _stupid_ , life-ending shit.

And fucking trust me when I say, there is nothing more dangerous than a stupid person with nothing to lose.

"Ugh… fucking damn it… Never taken a hit that hard before…"

There was a sharp ringing in my ears, like the cellphones of a million call girls during a bonanza for virgins. Dryly, I realized that my right arm was popped out of my socket, and there was the feeling of something sharp and pointy digging into my ribs.

There was the good ol' red stuff, gushing out of my sides, making me curse in irritation. Fuck, it was extremely hard to get blood stains out of these priest robes. I was also certain that the shitty laundromats would be closed on account of the apocalypse; those cunts were always looking for a reason to skip out on an honest day's job.

Unlike me of course. I was a hard worker to the fullest – bonafide, and confirmed.

By the time my eyes started doing the only good fucking thing they were used for, I realized that Mr. Fucking-Giant-Purple-Samurai had vanished, alongside with a good portion of the road, the street, the tarmac – hell, I'd call this guy for my birthday party because it was one hell of a trick.

Of course he also tried to make me vanish as well, and that was a no-no. Freed-fucking-Selzen does not appreciate people who try to make him vanish.

I got up to my feet, and felt the good red stuff pump through my veins as my eyes flickered back and forth around my surroundings, taking into notice what had been fucked up, how badly it had been fucked up, and what was the closest thing _I_ could fuck up in order to deal with this fucked up situation.

"Oi! Ray Ray – you still alive?"

It'd be real fucking shame if she'd died. One, because it would be a waste of such prime fucking material. Two, because I was a human, and she was a _fucking_ angel, and if I survived nearly being sat on by a fucking giant purple samurai, and she _didn't_ , then she ought to kill herself for being that fucking pathetic.

I mean – _fuck!_

Sure, I was a bit banged up here and there – but it was all good. So far as my heart was still pumping blood into my system, I could live with that.

"Need some fucking alcohol."

The Apocalypse is no place for a sober man – Freed Selzen, circa 2000.

I needed to get wasted. Seriously, over the top wasted. Though I'd been stealing some Xboxes earlier, I wasn't a fucking moron. It'll only be a matter of time till electricity was completely gone, and then, I'd be smashing the device to use as tinder, to keep my balls and ass from freezing off.

Now where the fuck was the nearest liquor store damn it?

Oh yeah, flattened.

"This is what you fucking get Japan! Next time, don't fucking create so many shitty, goddamned monster movies! Oh wait, that's right – there won't _be_ a fucking next time, _because you're all going to be killed by a FUCKING GIANT SAMURAI!_ "

I panted a little bit. Fuck, it hurt my ribs to scream – hell, it hurt just to breathe, and here I was ranting like a lunatic. Well, like _more_ of a lunatic.

"Fuck. Fuck. Fuckity Fucking _FUCK!_ "

 _FUCKKKKK!_

I needed to kill something. I needed to kill something now. Wait, no – fuck that. I needed to be drunk. And I needed to be fucking something too. Shit. This was one of those conundrums that I was sure the Vikings had all the time. I wanted to kill. I wanted to drink. I wanted to fuck. Could I do all three at once? Of course I could. Who the fuck had the right to tell me otherwise? No one – that's who.

No one, except my own fucking body apparently. Fuck – I was already seeing double, and it wasn't the good, wasted-beyond-all-fucking-reason seeing double, but the 'your-body-is-slowly-fucking-dying' seeing double. All that red stuff pouring out of my sides was probably the main cause. It'd probably need some good patchwork – the kind and type that came rarer than a virgin succubus during the apocalypse. They'd probably give some petty excuse 'oh, I can't treat you – the world is ending!' feh. Fucking doctors. I was sure that my good ol' friend would be capable of convincing them otherwise.

I tapped my side. My good ol' friend was missing.

"Fuck. Can this day get any! Fucking! Worse?!"

Yeah fate – I'm fucking tempting you. I'm tempting you with my fucking gorgeous ass. COME AT ME YOU SHITTY FUCKER!

A loud, overwhelming siren immediately took over the immediate vicinity. I knew what that siren was for – and I never fucking thought I'd hear it.

 _Nuclear attack warnings._

I took in a deep breath.

" _FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU –"_

* * *

 **Fang**

The fire was hot.

Normally, I would not be making such obvious declarations, but given the circumstances of these flames, I had to make the distinction. I had not yet encountered heavy forms of battle in my service to my King, and generally, I was never in any form of true danger.

This scenario was different, as I had arrived, just a shadow of a few seconds too late, and watched as the car swerved into the gas station, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth as I watched the family of four, with the little boy and girl in the back, be completely engulfed by a ball of flame from the sizable explosion.

The shockwave hit my skin and passed through like ripples of water, a benefit of Devilish physiology as such forms of damage could not truly harm me in such little force.

The resounding fireball however, had left me quite singed.

The fires weren't burning or scorching, but felt like someone had splashed me with partially boiled water, enough to be a hindrance, but not enough to be immediately fatal.

My Kuoh Academy uniform however, had not fared as well as I had.

It would be a hassle to get a new one, but considering the extenuating circumstances, I didn't believe I would ever need a new one.

Still, I turned my gaze over to the fire, to the car, barely managing to make out the burnt husks that were inside.

I had not been able to save them. The thought irked me, the failure of once more watching as life slipped between my fingers, a casual passing observer, witnessing the unsightly death of more people, and yet, accepting it.

It did not matter. I turned my attention away from the wreckage and flames, and focused my vision in the direction of Kuoh Academy. I needed to get back to Rias. I was her sword and shield, and though she was certainly capable on her own, it was my duty as her knight to be by her side.

What a night I had chosen to go on a walk.

Akeno's teasing had gone slightly farther than normal, and she had seemed too interested in the affair to not let it drop. My King had gotten curious as well, and I had no choice but to merely choose this walk was a method of calming myself.

Sometimes I wondered if My King believed I was gay. Or perhaps they thought I was simply asexual, or that my drive for other things overwhelmed any form of ambient lust or desire I possessed. I was a boy, a teenage boy whose constant companions were two beautiful women that other men would kill and die for, and a younger, cuter girl that had the appeal of a sister. I was not a monk or a priest or a eunuch, but I was a Knight.

I was not blind to their attractiveness, nor was I to their sensuality. I had many dreams a night about the two of them, but I merely let those dreams stay as that – dreams. Coveting more would be insane. Even slightly hinting any form of interest would net me with a tag that I did not wish for. Both of them were far out of my dreams. They were not in the realm of possibility of someone like myself ever attaining. Perhaps, a careless fling here would be possible, but nothing more. I could not be emotionally or sexually invested, and with all of My King's belief that peerage was family, I doubted she would ever consider the idea of being with me as anything other than incest.

 _ARF! ARF!_

A sound drew me from my thoughts. Barking. The barking of a dog, I realized. The dog, I noticed, was a German Shepherd – a rare breed in Japan – fully grown, growling, yet beckoning, with its one badly bleeding leg, and the large piece of metal attached viciously to the side of its neck.

I approached it gently, and then I tried to remove it, but it snarled instead, leaving me confused at the strange behavior, I followed it, easily, as it kept beckoning to me, and I found myself enraptured, as the dog made its way through the burning streets and littered cars, upturned dirt and destroyed roads, until we eventually came to a stop at a house.

Perhaps it would be best instead to simply call it the 'remains' of a house. Collapsed, tattered, the roof having caved in and the walls haven fallen, the brown dog still beckoned over to me, and eventually, I followed it. Slowly, I began hearing the sounds and yells of someone beckoning for help, along with large, heavy thumps, the sound reminding me of a fist slamming into something wooden.

I rushed past the dog, moving until the sounds and yells came closer, the voice sounding clearer and distinctively feminine, until I eventually came across the source. There were two legs, sticking from underneath a large pile, the legs were clothed in pink pants, and a pair of fluffy, bunny slippers lay strewn aside beside them.

"Hold on!"

I was a Knight, not a Rook, and my specialty was speed rather than strength, however, I was still a devil, and the power of a race that was not of mankind flowed through me, oddly feeling like electricity arching inside my bloodstream. I moved, lifting the first heavy obstacle – a half destroyed television set, then went through the next, a keyboard pilfered entirely of its alphanumerical contents, then through pots and pans and pieces of the collapsed roof. Eventually, I had cleared all the way through it, as I found a table, sturdy and made from oak, I guessed that it was the only thing that had kept the person underneath from being crushed to death or worse. I lifted it up, and the sounds of coughs eventually entered my ears.

"Ugh… those manuals forgot to mention how to bury yourself out of debris. I'm so unsubscribing the first chance I get."

It took a while for the words to make sense to my ears, and I eventually shook my head at the nature of the girl I had found, dressed in dazzling pink pajamas, bespectacled, with her uncouth looking eyes hidden behind those lenses and her brown hair set freely, he had to blink twice.

Did I know her from somewhere?

"Thanks for… oh."

The manner in which she stopped as she stared at me did give me pause, there was no mistaking the recognition in her eyes.

"Saved – by the Prince of Kuoh Academy himself! My great apocalyptic life story has taken a turn for the romantic!"

I almost grimaced at the title, but instead, allowed the familiar kindling smile I wore to come up to my face, as I extended my arm out to her.

"Are you alright?"

She took the hand, and almost instantly leapt to her feet, before she gave out a tired sigh.

"No! I'm not alright! I've wasted valuable time being trapped underneath all that debris, now I'm so behind on my plans!"

My smile never left my face, but my eyebrow did raise, just a smidgen.

"Plans?"

"My plans for surviving the apocalypse!" she said, looking excited, before frowning "Though I totally had my money on either nuclear fallout or zombie virus outbreak. Definitely did not see an alien invasion happening."

I was not sure how to respond to that. Was anyone supposed to have a proper method to respond to that? Instead, I merely retained my polite smile and nodded.

"I see."

"So… What are you doing out here on your own Mr. Prince?" She blinked, "Ah, wait a minute – how in the world did you find me anyway?"

"That would be –"

"KIBA!"

I was caught off guard, for a second, until I realized she was not referring to me. She all but scrambled forward, stumbling across the way until she made it to the dog.

I was not often a person to believe in fate, or even destiny. Yet, in a world with God, it was hard for me to accept such things as coincidence. I watched as she gently did her best to remove the jagged metal embedded in the dog. It let out a small whine and groan that was almost saddening to see on such an impressive creature.

"You… you went to find help for me… didn't you boy?"

The dog whimpered.

"You –" her voice cracked "You didn't need to – all for me…"

It whined even further, cradling it's slightly bleeding form into the girl. It's eyes looked up to her, in a manner I could not explain, yet, in a manner that told all that it wanted to convey.

 _Did I do good?_

"You…. Y-you … y-y-you did good boy. You did good. You were always a good boy. A good boy – yes you are."

I'd never seen a human being smile in their final moments. I'd never seen anyone or anything look satisfied in their demise. Yet, I saw it in the dog. Smiling. Largely smiling. Satisfied. Even as its eyes slowly closed. Even as it stopped moving.

 _Smiling_.

I didn't know what to do. I wasn't sure what to say.

The girl whose name I still could not remember, rose, gently. All I saw was her back, even as her arm ran across her eyes and several choked sounds hit my ears. She spun around to face me. A familiar look on her face. A look I wore and had worn for years upon years – ever since being taught the civility and conduct that I was supposed to carry myself with at all time.

A polite smile was on her face. A smile that matched mine.

And for a brief second – mine faltered.

I wanted to say something. To console her. To empathize – what little I could. Something to make her feel better. To make the situation feel better. My brain toiled and toiled, and my lips provided no fruit. For the first time in a long while –

I was rendered speechless against my own will.

And then – the sirens came.


	5. Saji, Arthur, and Issei III

**I assume people will probably understand this story's intentions from this chapter. If not, well, you can send me a PM. Also, stop asking me about Naruto and Sasuke. Yes, they are in the main character tags. Yes, they will get their turn to shine. No, you will not know when it will be. Think about the title of this story for a second, let it sink in, and then understand why.**

* * *

 **Saji**

"We do nothing."

I could not believe my ears. I couldn't believe my eyes either, as the gathered "council" of old decrepit devils made their decision, and worse, all the Satans seemed to be _supporting_ them.

This – this couldn't be happening.

Right?

I turned my attention to my _King_ , doing my best to retain my composure for her. We'd been summoned straight off Kuoh Academy as soon as that giant samurai thing started attacking, and I could barely have believed it myself. Still – I didn't understand why we were even _allowed_ to be in this room right now – with the Satans, listening on this important decision making stuff. Was it because Serafall-sama refused to let Kaicho out of her sight? Did she think Kaicho would try and do something?

"Nothing?" Serafall asked, repeating the word.

"Nothing," Ajuka-sama said. The man who was often called the smartest devil in existence shrugged, and he let out a sigh. "We have nothing – I repeat, absolutely _nothing_ to gain from joining the battle. Except perhaps, to avoid being called cowards by the rest of the supernatural community – but that is hardly substantial enough to risk our lives and the lives of our men on a lost cause."

"So," There was no mirth in Serafall-sama's voice. She steeled her gaze towards him, and then gaze towards Sirzechs-sama, who was eerily silent. "We are cowards then."

I gulped slowly. Beside me, Kaicho seemed to be vibrating uneasily in place.

Man oh man, what in the world where we even _doing_ here? I didn't want to be here if the Satans decided to start duking it out.

"That is enough Leviathan!" One of the 'elders' barked, and Serafall-sama leveled him a glare, making him falter momentarily. I could have sworn the guy went chalk white.

Beelzebub-sama shook his head, not appearing the least bit offended by Serafall-sama's comment.

"The Asgardians were eliminated in one attack. _One_. Perhaps, Sirzechs and I may be capable of doing the same thing, but not with that level of ease, and not without utilizing significant magical power." He paused. "But – this isn't necessarily about the battle. I'm looking forward – to the future. What the world 'holds' for us after all the dust settles."

He seemed to run some calculations in his head, and I remembered Kaicho telling me about how Ajuka-sama's power was something to do with calculations. That he could calculate anything and everything – and it was damn scary.

"I estimate, that there is a 94% every other pantheon will be dead by the end of the battle and a 100% certainty of any survivors being weakened from the battle. Every pantheon – except us, the devils."

There was a cold chill in the room, and Serafall-sama did not look like she appreciated what Ajuka-sama was insinuating.

"Any consequences of nuclear fallout is irrelevant. I've done significant testing which shows that radioactivity has nigh-unobservable, or, counterintuitively, _beneficial_ effects on our supernatural physiology. Radiation poisoning will be a mild annoyance at worst, and a manner to attain advantageous mutations at best. We are not at risk of dying from the fallout. The same however… cannot be said for the angels."

"In simpler terms?" One of the older devils asked, causing Beelzebub-sama to click his teeth impatiently.

"After the humans launch their nuclear weapons and eliminate most of their species, we, devils, are immune to significant amounts of the negative effects that would kill off any other living thing. The Angels, are not. The Gods are; but there will be too little of them left alive to make a difference."

They began to connect the dots. I wasn't the brightest tool in the shed, but even I could tell where he was going with this.

"That would mean –"

"That all of earth would be ours for the taking, and devils will become the dominant species on the planet." Ajuka said. "Yes."

No fucking way.

Was this really happening? Could this be really fucking happening? What about everyone? They – they were just going to let them die like that?!

"Kaicho –"

"Shut up Saji." Her voice was so sharp, I couldn't help but flinch. "Not now."

It stung, when the girl you were in love with and would do anything for, shut you down so quickly. I ignored the stinging sensation, and settled only for gnashing my teeth together.

"Our genetic make-up enables it so that we are weaker during the day, and stronger during the night. In the event of a nuclear winter, we would thrive. We can withstand extremely cold temperatures far better than most races, and significantly better than the average human –"

"A significant concern would be the lack of tillable, farmable land for us to grow agriculture – however, this is where minor applications of our magical abilities will aid us, reverting the land back to normal –"

"The availability of extra land and resources also translates to more wealth and prosperity on an individual and collective level –"

I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe I was hearing this. Humanity being wiped out. Devils taking over the world. None of this made any sense. It felt like some sort of bad dream – a bad dream I wanted to wake up from. I turned my attention to Kaicho – surely, she wouldn't agree to this plan right? Letting the world get nuked into Armageddon and then taking control of everything afterwards – there was no way…

Right?

 _Right?_

"Then it is decided." A voice called out. "All in favor of Beelzebub-sama's post-humanity agenda?"

I turned my gaze around the room. Nearly every hand went up. Serafall-sama's hand, slowly, reluctantly, went up as well. I couldn't believe it.

"All opposed?"

I turned my gaze to Kaicho. Waiting, waiting, and waiting. And then it occurred to me that her hand was not going to go up.

"Then it is settled."

I swallowed the thick lump in my throat.

"The era of humans is over, and the era of devils shall begin."

* * *

 **XXXX**

* * *

 **Arthur**

I thought I understood what it meant to have power. I had believed, I knew what strength meant. What power meant. The five letter world which enabled those who possessed it to reign above those who didn't. Often, I felt that Vali was one of such people. Someone who understood the word just as well, if not better than I did.

" **Bijudama Rasenshuriken!** "

I was wrong.

To call the sight which lay before me a warzone, would be to call a nuclear warhead a water balloon. Supposedly, this was one of the states in America before the invasion – now, I wasn't sure I could recognize it. It was only the decapitated giant head of the woman who had been called Lady Liberty that told me where I was.

I had come in search of a good fight. The pantheons gathered above in the skies, all combining their strengths against this enemy. Greek, Hindu, Shinto, Abrahamic – it mattered little. All of them had decided to join forces to quell the enemy – the enemy that had pierced and broken the universal statute of secrecy like a young man taking his maiden bride. Surely, such an overwhelming force, would possess the necessary strength to quell three mere invaders?

" **Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!** "

Correction. Three Thousand and Three Invaders.

The golden one, the one that was using some indescribable form of Senjutsu, he had the ability to multiply himself in the thousands. I had realized early on, that he seemed to be the most soft-hearted of the invaders. So far, he had not gone out of his way to kill those who were attacking him. Of course, if I could figure it out, so too could the 'gods.' They had focused their attention on taking him out first, and then hopefully eliminating the other two next.

Easier said than done.

The humans were panicking. Chaos was everywhere, pandemonium even more so. The arrival of the angels had been akin to a global televised event, and what could only summarily be called 'The Rapture' had happened. The Abrahamic Religions had claimed their faithful, and sent them to heaven. The number was in the hundreds of millions.

But the world was filled with _billions_.

Of course, the other religions followed suit. The "Save the faithful" campaign was as brutal as it was swift. If you believed in a pantheon and their tenets, you were saved. If you did not believe, you were left. If you believed, but broke the tenets, you were left.

It was a nightmare to both religious and irreligious alike. I had already seen some people, on their knees and crying out "I believe! God! I believe in you now! PLEASE! SAVE ME!"

It would have been funny, had a stray bolt of light from an angel not streaked down and skewered the man in half. Instead, it was merely ironic.

"Arthur! Get it together!"

I turned my head to the side. White armor, stained red. Blue wings, stained red. I wondered whose red it was, because so far, the enemies we fought had yet to bleed.

"This is pointless."

He turned his attention back to me. Were his armor not on, I could tell that he would be scowling. "What?"

"You cannot beat them." I said simply. "All the gods together can't beat them. You halved the power of the Golden One, and you nearly exploded from having that much energy in you. And he –"

I pointed to the rapidly moving gold streaks. "He didn't even notice."

Divine Dividing. I never thought I would see a day in which one of the Thirteen Longinus became useless. The Golden One was capable of duplicating himself, apparently halving his power each time he did so. He could do this in the thousands and still possess enough power to fight unperturbed. Divine Dividing was useless against a being with that much power to spare. Vali himself could barely contain that much power without exploding – and there was the fact that the power was somehow either corrosive or petrifying.

My eyes flickered over to tip of his wings – cracked and dull grey. Turned to stone. Strange effect for Senjutsu to possess. My sister would be intrigued. The Yokai would also be curious.

"It also makes me wonder what purpose we are fighting for," I added simply. "Significant amounts of the world's population is gone. Even if we win this battle, slay the Golden One, the Titan Samurai, and the Ash Goddess – what is left? What exactly are we fighting for?"

Ashes and remains were not worth entering the whirlwind of battle for. I sought strong opponents to test my blade, but I knew when an opponent was far beyond my abilities.

"Does it matter?" Vali asked, his voice morphed through the armor "This is the greatest war ever fought. This might as well be the _last_ war ever fought. A war of the best – the greatest – every god and every being in existence, fighting, in one place, at the same time. This is a once in a lifetime, once in _ever_ battle. As long as I get to fight in it – I'm satisfied."

I scoffed. "Not all of us are battle maniacs Vali. I did not sign up to waste my life in the name of false glory."

"I never took you for a coward Arthur."

I adjusted my glasses. Slowly.

"And I never took you for a fool, Vali."

The raging sounds of explosions rang behind us. The horizon, a sky of lights and attacks. Bodies fell from the sky in a weather that perfectly befitted the apocalypse. Then, it made sense: the blood on Vali's armor, and the people it belonged to.

In the mind of the White Dragon Emperor, this was a free-for-all.

"You know, I always wanted to test you at your best. The world's greatest swordsman."

She hummed for his blood, and for once, I did not try to temper her. In a movement, she was in front of me. Excalibur Ruler.

"And likewise, White Dragon Emperor. Quite the grand title you have, for borrowing the power of a lizard."

It seemed, the end of the world brought out the worst in everyone.

I rose my blade, ready to intercept Vali's first attack, only to stop when I realized he was not attacking. No – rather, he was merely staring up into the sky. I would have believed this a trick, but I knew Vali. He would not be satisfied with attaining victory via any form of tricks.

So, I turned my attention skywards.

The world was raining missiles.

* * *

 **XXXX**

* * *

 _The end of the world was not the rapture. It was not ragnarok. It was not in the manner or method anticipated by anyone, across anywhere. Historicists later on, would go on to write about what was eventually dubbed The Divine War. The proceedings of events were not certain, considering how the battle had taken place over the course of eight hours._

 **First Hour** : Varying reports reach the globe of supposed otherworld beings arriving from the sky, breaking sound barriers as they raced across the world.

 **Second Hour:** Reports of otherworldly beings confirmed. Identified are three humanoid creatures, eventually dubbed The Golden One, The Titan Samurai and The Ash Goddess, for their most identifiable traits.

 **Third Hour:** Battle between the Outsider Trio cumulates into worldwide damage. The Ash Goddess (TAG) telekinetically severs the head of the Statue of Liberty and launches it deep into the streets of Manhattan. The Eiffle Tower is removed by TAG once more and utilized as a projectile.

 **Fourth Hour** : Battle Races to Japan. Mt. Fuji is severed in half by The Titan Samurai (TTS)

 **Fifth Hour:** Worldwide Panic has set in and the death toll reaches three hundred thousand. The damage wrought immediately breaks the record of the Battle of the Somme for the bloodiest battle in human history. It further simultaneously surpasses the death toll of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Significant causes of death are attributed to TAG and TTS.

 **Sixth Hour:** Angels spotted in the Vatican City. "The Rapture" occurs. Hundreds of millions are enveloped by pillars of light and vanish. Hundreds of millions remain behind. The Norse Pantheon attacks TAG. They are immediately defeated. The Gods come for their faithful.

 **Seventh Hour** : The Divine War rages over New York. The parties involved include: The Hindu faction, Yokai, Fallen Angel Faction, Angel Faction, Greek Faction, Roman Faction, Buddhist Faction and African Tribal Gods factions. The White Dragon Emperor is present, as are numerous descendants of heroes. The Devil Faction is absent.

 **Final Hour:** An estimated ten thousand nuclear warheads converge on New York.

 _The events of the final hour, however – changed hope for humanity._

 **First Defense:** The Titan Samurai creates an artificial moon and encases three thousand warheads within it, launching it into earth's exosphere.

 **Second Defense:** The pantheons combine their power to create a barrier to withhold the blast.

 **Third Defense** : Georg of the Hero faction utilizes his Longinus Sacred Gear, Dimension Lost, to transport six thousand nuclear warheads into the dimensional gap – along with several gods, factions, and the Outsider Trio.

 _Despite their best efforts, however –_

 **Event X:** The artificial moon explodes and shatters in the exosphere – raining radioactive meteors and debris on the planet.

 **Event Zero:** One Thousand Nuclear Warheads impact with the Quarantined New York City.

* * *

 **XXXX**

* * *

She had escaped by a hairs breath. A rather short hairs breath – but it had been enough to leave that strange dimension. She had failed to pay attention to those flying missile like objects – and it had nearly cost her. Not even her regeneration would have been enough to bring her back if she had been vaporized completely. But – she survived, as a head – her head was all that she had managed to send out of that dimension in time before the massive explosions. Such strange, yet, immensely powerful weapons the people of this world possessed. They had no chakra, save for the strange animal-like ones that had kept attacking – but even then, they weren't 'normal' for this world.

A shame this world seemed to have completely been destroyed.

However, they'd helped her – helped her in getting rid of her two troublesome children. The reincarnations of Indra and Asura – there was no way they had escaped that explosion in time.

Still – she couldn't risk it.

There was the possibility that they were still alive. However slim. So… she needed to wait until she was certain that they weren't.

They were mortal after all, and she was not. Time would dull their skills, their abilities, make them weaker and slower – until eventually, death would creep at them normally. In contrast – she would only grow _stronger_ as years passed – gaining more experience and learning how to truly master her powers. She was not, after all, a shinobi or kunoichi. She had the powers, but did not know how to use them effectively – it was only due to her overwhelming power that she'd kept them at bay for so long. All they needed to do to seal her was to touch her – and she could not risk that happening.

A hundred years would be enough – give or take. A hundred years, and she would be in the clear.

First, she needed to heal. To recuperate. To regenerate the rest of her body. Once that was complete – she would need to regain her chakra reserves. Then, perhaps –

She would learn more about this strange world, and how some of its people could use chakra.

* * *

 **XXXX**

* * *

 **Issei**

So much noise. So much – I couldn't even begin to understand where all of it was coming from. It sounded like an earthquake or something – it disturbed my sleep more than I felt it had any right to.

Wait… sleep? Why… why was I sleeping?

And what… ugh … what the hell is what that horrible stench?

I opened my eyes, fluttering my eyelids slightly. I was in some sort of ruins – no – underground? The subway? When did the subway get a skylight… and how the hell did I get here? All I could remember was that nightmare about the apocalypse and then –

The stench came back, and I nearly coughed from the overwhelming odor. What in the world was –

My eyes caught it immediately. My stomach wished it hadn't.

Bodies – bodies everywhere – bodies all around me. The closest ones were wearing what looked like prison outfits, and they'd all – god – they'd all been hacked to pieces. It looked like some sort of wild animal had torn into them, as I saw bloody intestines sprawled out all over the railway. One had his ribcage and lungs open – the other had his head seemingly ripped in half – both hemispheres of his brain hung open and surrounded by flies –

I lost my lunch immediately. Vomit nearly choked in my throat at the sight of this… massacre. What in the world had done this? There was no way it could have been an accident.

Wait… prison clothes… Akashima… Penitentiary?

The name sounded familiar, but I couldn't place it. There was this nagging voice in my head, trying to draw some sort of connection. I think… these guys… gave me a ride somewhere?

Wait, that made no sense! Why would escaped prisoners give me a ride _anywhere_?

The more I tried to think about it, the more my head hurt, clouded by haze.

I needed to leave this place – to get out of here and get back to my house. I think – that was my goal… wasn't it?

Everything felt so fuzzy – nothing was making sense.

I climbed my way out of the subway, peaking through the giant hole, and eventually forcing my way back up to the street. It was daytime, making me wonder just how long I'd been out… but, though it was daytime…

Everywhere – everywhere was pitch black. No electricity – anywhere. The sky seemed to be burning – thick, overwhelming smoke as far as I could see – and absolutely no direct sunlight.

And as far as I could see – there was no one around me.

Everywhere was… silent. Eerily, eerily silent. I couldn't hear sirens, I couldn't hear cars, and I couldn't even hear the fighter jets or helicopters anymore. Buildings seemed to have been crushed by meteorites – roads were completely unrecognizable, and several cars looked like they'd caught on fire and burned till nothing but a dry husk.

"Hello…?"

My voice echoed. My tiny whisper, soft as it had been, travelled as though I'd yelled it.

"Is anyone here?"

I could feel the panic in my voice grow as the echo travelled louder, travelled faster.

"ANYONE?!"

No answer.

I was… alone.

" **You're not alone.** "

The voice sent a shock throughout my body. It also made me realize, that somehow, someway –

"What the hell?!"

There was a red gauntlet on my arm.

And it wasn't coming off.

* * *

 **End Arc I**


	6. Issei IV

**If you possess an inherent and abhorrent hatred for any fictional character whose name is not Shou Tucker, I would kindly advise you against reading this story. Particularly if you possess hatred of a fictional character whose name happens to be Hyoudou Issei.**

 **Reading reviews about people wishing death against a character whose major flaws arrive either as an inability to take action, or a feeling that he is "undeserving" in quotes, of the girls he has, gets rather tiring. Again, if Issei was someone like Shou Tucker from Full Metal Alchemist, I would understand your hatred. But, as he has yet to convert any cute girls and dogs into monstrous abominations, I fail to grasp why he is so despised.**

 **Regardless, the second Arc of this story begins. Do enjoy.**

* * *

 **Et Cetera**

* * *

 **Arc II:**

 **Winter of Monsters**

* * *

 **Issei**

 _Journal Entry_

 _Day One_

 _A journal. I can't believe I'm keeping a journal of all things. But – But I can't help it. I need it – something to talk to, someone to talk to, someone that isn't crazy or insane or, or something else. I need to put down all the shit that's going on in my head otherwise I'm sure that I'm going to lose it. Hell, I'm sure that I've already lost it. All of this – it's too much to take in. How the hell am I supposed to believe anything? To believe any of this? The whole world ruined, the end of the world and somehow, I survived?_

 _Me?_

 _How the hell am I supposed to believe any of that?! Ddraig, the fucking dragon in my arm, tells me that I was out for almost a week since the event happened. Since meteors crashed down from the sky and nukes lit up the entire world. A week! I was out for a week! How the hell did I survive_ that? _Why did I survive that? Why me of all people?_

 _Why me?_

 _I don't know. I haven't figured out the answer to that yet. I don't think I ever will._

 _A lot of my memory is still foggy – and my mind constantly feels as though there's this haze over it. Maybe this journal will help me remember things. Ddraig says it's a good idea, so maybe there's merit in it. Maybe…_

* * *

 _Journal Entry_

 _Day Two_

 _The talking dragon in my arm – which I still can't believe – gave me some more information today. I'm still wrapping my head around the idea that every supernatural thing I thought was nothing more than fantasy is actually real. I mean, devils, angels, gods, all of them – they all existed._

 _Ddraig's theory about how the world got all messed up is that those three beings that went out of their way to fight across the globe are actually world-ending gods from another dimension. He says that they were powerful – powerful even by his standards, and he hadn't seen such power like that since the Biblical God himself. I really don't know how to feel about that…_

 _I eventually got home today. Even though I hadn't seen anyone on the roads or the streets or anything, I still hoped… a bit of me hoped that I'd meet Ka-san or Tou-san at home. Except – they weren't there. The entire house wasn't there. A giant fragment of a meteor was now where my home was. It was where my entire_ street _was._

 _I don't know how to feel about it. A part of me wants to believe that my mom and dad are still alive somehow, someway. I can't believe they would die. It's… just not possible._

 _I decided that I would search all of Kuoh for them if I have to. It's likely that they left the house and the street before the rock impacted – maybe they're holed up somewhere, and they're waiting for me._

 _Ddraig says that I'm in the first stage of grief – denial. I asked him what a dragon knows about grief. He went quiet and hasn't spoken to me since. That's fine – he can sulk if he wants. I have more important thing that I need to be doing. I'm going to need to stock up on as much stuff as I can if I'm going to be travelling around. Money isn't really useful anymore, but food – mostly canned goods and stuff – I'd need that._

 _I'd need to also grab a book on survival, I couldn't rely solely on Ddraig's knowledge all the time. As far as I'd seen, nothing electrical or electronical was working anymore. Cars, mobile phones, fridges – nothing._

 _Last night, I'd slept almost in complete darkness and cold. Ddraig taught me how to light a small fire – I grabbed some wood from where I could and slept under a collapsed bridge. There were no mosquitos. There were no insects. I couldn't even hear the sound of any animals or movement. It was just me and the crackling flames._

 _It was terrifying._

 _I could barely sleep at all. The silence, the realization, everything hitting me all at once._

 _I cried. I cried and I cried and I couldn't stop crying._

 _I cried myself to sleep._

 _I'd never done that in my life before. I'd like to pretend as though it didn't happen – but I can't lie to myself like that._

 _I missed my parents. I missed Matsuda and Motohama. I missed everything. Everyone. I would rather go back to school and let all the girls beat me into a coma than experience this. I'd rather be in prison for sexual harassment than experience this._

 _Ddraig didn't have anything to say. If he noticed, he pretended as though he didn't. All he could add, was that I should not hold supernatural beings to the same standard as humans. They comprehended emotions and feelings and thoughts in entirely different ways._

 _As was growing more and more common these days – I didn't know what to think about it._

* * *

 _Journal Entry_

 _Day Three_

 _I slept in a house today. It was one of the houses that I usually passed on my way to school, but never entered. It was slightly intact – with the roof still being in place. The worst of the damage was internal._

 _Sleeping on a bed made me slightly more comfortable – and I'd been able to find a blanket to use. I was glad for that – glad for the little luxuries. I just wish I didn't have nightmares though. The nightmares were the worst part about sleeping. I'd see skulls and bones, and I'd see the purple titan samurai – swinging his sword and killing people. I'd see Kuoh on fire – the Academy burning – people's faces melting – guts and rivers of blood –_

 _I'd wake up in a cold sweat, and then I would eventually force myself back to sleep. I needed sleep. I needed it._

 _When I woke up, I decided that I would head to a Department Store to try and get the items I needed to find my parents. I know I'm not really the smartest person around – so I made a list of all the items I think I'd need:_

 _Travelling Clothes._

 _Canned Beans._

 _Canned Sardines._

 _Canned Meat._

 _More Canned Foods._

 _Snacks and/or drinks._

 _A Map._

 _A Rucksack – to carry everything._

 _A better pair of shoes. (I should have put this under travelling clothes)_

 _A lightweight foldable bicycle. (To get around faster)_

 _That thingy for checking the radiation levels of a place. (I really needed it.)_

 _Some tools. (In case I needed them.)_

 _Some porn magazines. (For entertainment when I was resting.)_

 _Some hentai manga. (Same as above. Also – the internet isn't a thing anymore. I'd need as many of these as I could get.)_

 _Some normal manga or light novels._

 _That was most of what I could think of for the meanwhile. Ddraig chipped in and said that I needed to look into getting myself some weapons or things that I could use to defend myself. I asked him what I'd need that for – and he went silent again._

 _I don't get Ddraig. Always cryptic and silent and stuff – when he could be helping me a lot. I mean, he does help me – but he could afford to help me some more – right? We're pretty much the only two people left in the world. What does he have to lose?_

 _Anyway – I needed to head to the supermarket. I'd deal with Ddraig's paranoia much later._

 _End Entry._

* * *

The weather was getting progressively colder. I noticed it, there was a chill in the air that Kuoh never had before. By the time I left my current hideout, and began trekking it to the nearest supermarket, mall, or department store, I was shivering immensely. I could see my breath appear in front of my face, and I wondered why this was happening – it wasn't even remotely close to winter yet. We were still just in September… I think?

My stinky Kuoh Academy uniform did little to shield me against the elements. Instead, I reached into my small book, my journal, and hastily scribbled with a black-ink ballpoint pen 'get winter clothes.'

At this point, I would do with clothes of any sort. My current uniform was little more than a pair of glorified rags. Hopefully, I'd be able to find some thick clothes.

I made my way across deserted streets, abandoned roads, and empty buildings, the eeriness of it all still unable to completely escape from my mind. Morbid as it was, there should have been corpses or something around – at least, enough corpses to make it clear that a disaster had happened. But there was nothing – not one. I had not come across a single corpse throughout – and the thought sent more and more chills running down my spine.

If everyone was dead, where were their bodies?

I didn't want to think too much on it, and instead, I focused on getting to the nearest store. The closest one was not too far off – although I'd have to cut through some houses to get to it.

" _ **Hehehehehehe**_ _–"_

A cold chill passed over my shoulder. I felt my hair stand on edge as I whipped my attention around, my eyes rapidly searching for something – for _anything_ that had made that disconcerting noise. That disconcerting giggle – it sounded like a child – but it was far, far too creepy to be one.

"Ddraig… was – was that you?"

I turned to my arm, staring at the exposed red gauntlet and hoping to heavens that his answer would be in the positive.

" _No."_

I felt my heart sink.

" _ **Hehehehehe –**_ _"_

The laugh came back, and this time around, I caught the sight of something, something dashing out of the corner of my vision. The speed – the sheer speed at which this thing moved told me that there was no way it could be human, much less be a child.

" _Run. Run, now."_

I was already moving before the dragon gave me the instruction. My feet hit the road and I sprinted as fast and as hard as I could.

And it was pitiful.

" _Slow. So pathetically slow. Why are you running so slowly?_ "

I grit my teeth and did my best not to pant or wheeze. The answer was obvious in my mind. I hadn't eaten in more than a week. I hadn't even noticed, or realized – I had been too preoccupied with trying to deal with the end of the world that it never occurred to me to stop and eat. I'd slept, and it had given me some energy, but I had no nutrients to use. Not even _water_. I'd been running so far on nothing but pure adrenaline.

 _What in the world is that!?_ I demanded, making sure to use our mental connection while focusing on moving however fast I could manage at the time.

" _Something that will kill you if it catches up to you."_

That wasn't an answer goddamn it! I grind my teeth together as I turn my gaze to the direction of a nearby stall. I dashed for it, ignoring the burning in my chest and in my limbs, as I used the last dregs of energy I had to dive through the window.

" _ **Hehehehehehe –**_ "

The sound echoed past my ears once more, but this time, it shot past me, past the stall where I'd hid myself, and I shuddered silently as it moved by. I waited, holding my breath to the best of my ability to _not_ make any sounds that would reveal my hiding place.

" _It is toying with you. It knows exactly where you are. Do not attempt to hide – not even for a second. Run, run and keep running._ "

Ddraig's words sent a wave of fear and a spark of anger up me at the same time.

 _What is it?_ I asked. Again, I received nothing but irritating silence. I bit my lip. I couldn't keep running. Not like this. I didn't have the strength to run indefinitely. I was already completely tired out as it was, and Ddraig wanted me to keep running?

" _There is no time to waste. Ru –"_

"I can't fucking run!" I snapped, panting. "I can't run! I can't outrun it! I don't have the strength to run! I don't even know _where_ I'm supposed to run – and I'm tired!"

My voice cracked. "I'm _tired_."

" _Then you die."_ Ddraig intoned emotionlessly. " _On your gravestone, they shall write 'Here lies Hyoudou Issei. He was tired.'"_

I gnashed my teeth together. I needed to move, but I didn't have the strength. I felt like I weighed at least six times my normal weight. Every bone felt as though it had been replaced with dumbbells.

" _Very well. If you are tired of running – I suppose your only option is to stand and fight."_

 _Fight?_ I asked, the concept sounding foreign to me. _I don't know how to fight._

" _Then you are lucky you possess me as a teacher._ "

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Why?" I asked vocally. "Why suddenly help me?"

" _Because as it stands, you are one of the few humans left on the planet. As time passes, it will become more and more likely that you humans become extinct – which means, for all intents and purposes, you are most likely going to be my last host."_ Ddraig explained stuffily. _"This means either two things. That if you die, the Sacred Gear which houses my soul, the Boosted Gear, will die with you, hence, I will die as well. Or, more annoyingly, the Sacred Gear does not die, and I do not die, but instead remain in a state of eternal limbo wherein the Boosted Gear searches for another soul compatible enough with it to merge. Of course, with no humans – it will be an impossible task._ "

 _I don't think I understand…_

Ddraig huffed. " _Essentially, if I do not die with you, then I will be confined to fate that is equivalent of standing in line at an eternal queue for a product that no longer exists. Forever."_

I grimaced. That sounded _really_ bad.

"So… can you tell me what is hunting –"

" _Dodge to the left! NOW!"_

I didn't even think twice about the order. I rolled, hitting the ground harshly as I scrambled away from my previous position, away from the stall. It was not even a tiny second too soon, as the sound of _something_ impacting the stall hit my ears, followed by a large brush of heat which almost seared my back. I hit the ground with a thud, my eyes going wide as I stared at the damage done. The entire stall was gone. The entire stall, along with a good portion of the road. Instead, there was what seemed to be steaming, glowing goo that looked acidic in it's place.

" _ **Aww… you dodged it.**_ _"_

I snapped my gaze up to the sound of the voice. The dust cloud in front of me slowly began clearing, allowing me to take in a good stock of the features. It looked like a young woman, and if this were in other circumstances, I would have been gazing lustfully at her body, but it wasn't.

The woman was of somewhat average height, with thick black hair, and deep raven eyes. She was completely naked, making me swallow the saliva in my throat as my eyes settled upon her breasts and nipples, and daringly, but dangerously strayed down further below, witnessing the patch of hair that hid her… feminine parts.

She let out a sensual sigh. " **But… I suppose this is good.** " Her voice held a rumbling quality to it. Thick, dangerous – and it made the hairs on my neck stand on edge. **"I've been eating my fill of you humans for so long! But they're so few of you actually** _ **alive**_ **that I can hunt and toy with. Eating nothing but cadavers** _ **can**_ **get tiring you know?"**

A significant amount of my arousal died that second. "W-who – w-what are you?"

" _A Stray."_ I heard Ddraig grumble in my mind. " _A devil who has decided to abandon or commit crimes against its master is designated as a stray. They are usually unanimously hunted down by every single faction, because they eat humans and feed on them as sustenance for their magical power."_

My blood ran cold at that information. At the same time, my mind was running at several miles an hour. This – this was supposed to be a devil? Other than the slightly longer nails and the menacing aura, I would never have realized that she was anything other than human. I pictured devils as red-skinned, ugly looking monsters with a forked tail, horns, and a pitchfork.

" **So, little boy –** "

In a fraction of a second, she was in front of me. My eyes widened as her right foot slammed itself into my neck effortlessly, pushing me to the ground. I tried to lift it, to raise it up – but it was like someone had placed a dozen cars on my neck. She leaned forward, effortlessly, with one leg on my neck, and naked, I could see _everything_ , everything I had always wanted to see in a woman. In any other circumstance, I would have been beyond elated – but now, I was too busy trying not to choke to death. The irony of the scene reminded me of all those hentai manga where the protagonist would get 'stepped on' by a hot woman and find it arousing.

There was nothing remotely arousing about nearly being choked to death with one foot.

" **What's so special about** _ **you**_ **?** " the woman, no – the _monster_ , asked, with as much amusement in her tone. " **It was funny watching you flee from the sound of my laughter. It's been a while since I messed with any humans like that. And it makes me wonder – how did** _ **you**_ **survive the apocalypse? What's your secret?** "

I couldn't speak. Both from a lack of trying, and from the fact that there was literally a foot pressed against my throat preventing me from doing so.

"… **Now that I think about it, how exactly did you avoid my attack? There was no way you should have known it was coming –** " She stopped abruptly, and I felt my blood freeze as her gaze snapped to my arm.

She instantly staggered back in surprise. No, she _scampered_ back away from the gauntlet as though she'd been burned by its presence. I coughed, largely grateful for the fact that I could breathe again now that her leg wasn't on my throat.

 _Ddraig… she – recognizes you?_ I sent the mental question to the dragon, and I could almost hear a mental snort in return.

" _It took the combination of three factions, stopping their war, merely to defeat and seal me and my rival. Anyone who sees a red gauntlet the color of my scales and does not immediately do a double-take, would have long died of stupidity."_

In accordance to Ddraig's words, the stray devil's gaze was still on the gauntlet, occasionally, her eyes flickered to me, but she never stopped looking at it.

 _What – What do I do? Can I fight her? Beat her?_ I asked, doing my best to try and get to my feet.

" _No."_ Ddraig's voice came cold and blunt. " _As it stands, you cannot hope to win against her. Against anyone. Even if you were ten times stronger and faster than you are now – you would only be a minor hindrance to this stray."_

I grit my teeth, trying hard to think of something before she regained her composure. _So what do I do?!_ I roared mentally. _I can't run! I can't fight! So what do I do?!_

" _Not every single problem in the world can be solved by either running or fighting."_ Ddraig responded, and I could sense irritation in his voice. " _Had this been any other situation, I would have left you to your fate and watched as you were killed and I was transferred to another host. But as it stands, the likelihood of another host is almost impossible, and I would hate for my last host in the world to have been killed against something as pitiful as a stray devil."_

" **That gauntlet…** " the stray spoke up, and I felt my window of opportunity slowly closing. _Come on Ddraig!_

" _Listen to me now, Hyoudou Issei. If you want to live, you will do_ exactly _as I say, and you will repeat this words as well as you can._ "

It wasn't like I had a choice. So Ddraig instructed – and I followed.

"Y-you recognize it, don't you." I cursed myself internally for that initial stutter, and I tried to counter it by standing upright, and appearing as confident as I possibly could.

" _Engage eye contact. Put your chin up. Tilt your head down, not that much you fool! Yes – now, your chest, out – your legs – "_

Following Ddraig's command, I stood more confidently than I truly felt. I stood, and then I stared this stray devil straight in the eyes. She did have a beautiful shade of eyes –

" _Focus fool!"_

I stared, and then I let out the cockiest grin I could. " _This"_ I rose my arm up, "is how I survived. This is _why_ I survived. If God and the Devil could not kill the Red Dragon Emperor, then of what attempt can the apocalypse offer?"

The stray took a wary step backwards.

"You think I was running? Running from you?" I reared my head back and let out a laugh. "Foolish little bat. I was _baiting you_. I wanted you here – cocky, overconfident – standing before me like a pitiful mouse who does not realize he has made an abode in the den of a lion."

Was it working? I couldn't tell. I was doing my best to listen to Ddraig's words and at the same time ensure I didn't let anything slip. She seemed more wary than before, and the distance between us had increased – I think. Was it… was it actually working?

I could feel the sweat on my brow. Despite the cold environment, I could feel it cascading slowly. I knew, I knew that my legs were shaking. My legs were shaking badly. But, I'd positioned them in such a manner that made it appear as though I was the one making them move. As though I was rearing up for a sprint.

My face felt so hot. My palms felt freezing cold. I could feel the sweat on them.

 _Please fall for it – please fall for it – please –_

" **Fancy words. But do you think I'm going to fall for such an obvious bluff?"** She let out a sneer, " **Considering I had you squirming beneath my foot like a pitiful worm earlier – you expect me to believe that you are the Red Dragon Emperor?** "

 _OhGODWHY –_

" _Don't lose your cool!"_ I heard Ddraig roar. " _Now – do it!_ "

I thrust my gauntlet into the sky, and I felt it.

 **[BOOST!]**

The roar of the Boosted Gear echoed across the deserted world like the ferocious bellow of a lion in the savannah. I felt it all across my body, the power, it ran through my blood and my veins like a comforting fire. My tiredness eased. My body felt lighter, more agile. My strength, it felt as though I could lift a couch with one-hand now.

The stray was looking decidedly less confident once she realized that I was the real deal. Then, Ddraig told me what next.

"Allow me to re-educate you, since you've forgotten," I gestured to the gauntlet "This is one of the Thirteen Longinus. A Sacred Gear with the power to slay gods. It allows me to _double_ my power, _infinitely._ Do you know what that means? It means with this – even worms may fell dragons."

I gestured my hands in a come-hither motion.

"Would you like to be felled by a worm?"

I didn't move. I didn't say a word. I didn't need to. She took a long, tentative glance at me, and then, eventually, she growled.

" **We'll meet again,** _ **boy**_ **.** "

She vanished from my perception. At a speed that was far too fast for me to have even seen. One second she was in front of me, the next, she was gone. I waited, my breath held, still.

" _She's gone._ "

I immediately collapsed to the ground and dry-heaved. My stomach whined and revolted, arguing that there was nothing for me to vomit, yet, every other part of my body violently disagreed. I panted, breathing in rough, short breaths. My entire body was shaking, it was shaking and covered from head to toe in complete cold sweat.

Doing and saying the opposite of what I felt, and doing my best to try and hide that I felt these things – it was the hardest thing I had ever done. I still couldn't believe I had said half of those things I did –

 _Would you like to be felled by a worm?_

Just the thought of me saying it as though I meant it – when I was doing my best not to piss myself –

"I-I-I can't believe she actually believed it –"

" _She didn't."_

Ddraig's words cut into my celebration.

"W-what?"

" _She knew you were bluffing. But at the same time, she did not wish to take the risk in case you were not. If she failed to kill you immediately, you would only grow incrementally stronger as the battle continued – while she would tire out. There would be no merit or point in taking such a risk against you when she could simply find far easier prey."_

Ddraig explained simply, and then he let out a dry snort.

" _It's not so much that you are a worm, than you are a cockroach. Attempting to kill you would have been too much of an annoyance."_

I frowned, feeling slightly irritated at Ddraig's comment. At the same time, I owed him my life – so I didn't say anything.

" _A bluffing tactic will only take you so far. You_ need _to get stronger if you wish to survive this new world. No ifs, ands, or buts."_ Ddraig intoned emotionlessly. " _With the human world destroyed and in shambles, more and more of the unruly supernatural will arrive here with less than honorable means. Stray devils will consider this place a paradise to hunt. Regular devils will engage in slavery and debauchery of the worst sorts. Then, other creatures – ghouls, spirits, poltergeists and everything from a wendigo to a banshee – all of them will come crawling to the surface, in search of what few meals they may find."_

I felt horrified. "There are more dangerous things out there than that stray devil?"

" _If I were to rank the most powerful creatures in the world from number one, to number one-million, with number one being strongest, and one-million being weakest – that stray you just encountered would be placed around one-million and one."_

The sinking sensation in my stomach increased immensely. "H-how?" I rasped.

" _As a human – you are weak. Even if you were an athletic, top-of-the-line human, the pinnacle of your species, you would still be at least two to three times weaker than the average devil. A high-class devil would be no different to you as a god. And an actual god? To you, he would be beyond comprehension."_

I swallowed. "So how do I – how would I… get stronger?"

Ddraig didn't answer for a long time. The silence was eerily thickening.

" _You forfeit your humanity."_

* * *

 _Journal Entry,_

 _Day 3 Cont._

 _Ddraig never did explain what he meant by that. To forfeit my humanity. What would it mean? How would I go about doing it?_

 _Despite saying he would help me, because he wanted to survive, Ddraig still liked to leave things up for me to figure it out on my own. Fine. If that was the case – I decided that I would start by trying to be more… dragony?_

 _What did I know about dragons? Nothing. Well – except from stuff from videogames and manga – Dragons were super powerful, super dangerous, and really intimidating. I wanted to be all three – but for now, the first two were out of the question._

 _But the last one – could I do that? Be intimidating?_

 _I mean – I was a nice guy – at least, I think I was –_

 _But in that moment, when I had been listening to Ddraig, when I had been pretending to be super-confident and dangerous –_

 _I enjoyed it. It felt… cool. I never thought I'd be able to do something like that in my life. Ever._

 _Maybe I can start there? Maybe if I pretended long enough to be super-confident and badass, I'd actually become super-confident and badass? So if I pretended to be intimidating, would I actually become intimidating?_

 _Fake it till you make it – that's what people said._

 _So I guess – I'd try it._

 _I'd fake being a dragon –_

 _Hopefully, in time, I'd become one._


End file.
